An Institutional Analysis of Coordination in Liberalized Port-related Railway Chains: An Application to the Port of Rotterdam

Abstract

The European railway market has gone through a period of liberalization over the last two decades. The liberalization of the railway market has also affected port-related railway transport. Efficient port-related transport chains are key in the competition among ports, however providing this efficiency is to a large extent a coordination challenge. Many forms of coordination are needed to ensure that the railway chain operates efficiently, including the bundling of cargo, and good organization between railway companies, terminal operators and the infrastructure managers to realize an efficient use of assets. From the literature, it appears that less attention has been paid to the economic organization of port-related railway transport in general, and specifically in the new liberalized institutional environment. The goal of this paper is to come up with a framework to better understand the issue of coordination in port-related railway chains in a liberalized institutional environment. This paper presents a conceptual framework rooted in Transaction Cost Economics (TCE). Based on an in-depth study into coordination in liberalized container railway market at the Port of Rotterdam, empirical illustrations are used to adjust the TCE approach toward a dynamic model influenced by Douglas North's theory on economic and institutional change. Empirics from the port of Rotterdam show that new players have entered the railway market and their role has changed. This paper shows that coordination of railway operations has become more complex after the regime change. From a port perspective, liberalization does not lead to an optimal allocation of resources in a process that is highly operationally interdependent. In the liberalized environment, coordination arrangements are necessary to enable efficient coordination of railway operations in Rotterdam.     

压力钢带式无级变速器技术降低油耗的潜能分析(二)

参考CVT装在一辆奔驰A190车辆上，在3个测试循环及两种恒速状态下，通过认可的方法对油耗进行测量。表2所示的是采用绝对安全系数Sfabs=1.3的目前策略与新的控制策略之间的减少量。     

A framework for robustness analysis of road networks for short term variations in supply

There is a growing awareness that road networks, are becoming more and more vulnerable to unforeseen disturbances like incidents and that measures need to be taken in order to make road networks more robust. In order to do this the following questions need to be addressed: How is robustness defined? Against which disturbances should the network be made robust? Which factors determine the robustness of a road network? What is the relationship between robustness, travel times and travel time reliability? Which indicators can be used to quantify robustness? How can these indicators be computed? This paper addresses these questions by developing a consistent framework for robustness in which a definition, terms related to robustness, indicators and an evaluation method are included. By doing this, policy makers and transportation analyst are offered a framework to discuss issues that are related to road network robustness and vulnerability which goes beyond the disconnected definitions, indicators and evaluation methods used so far in literature. Furthermore, the evaluation method that is presented for evaluating the robustness of the road network against short term variations in supply (like incidents) contributes to the problem of designing robust road networks because it has a relatively short computation time and it takes spillback effects and alternative routes into account.     

Dynamic threshold policy for delaying and breaking commitments in transportation auctions

In this paper we consider a transportation procurement auction consisting of shippers and carriers. Shippers offer time sensitive pickup and delivery jobs and carriers bid on these jobs. We focus on revenue maximizing strategies for the shippers in sequential auctions. For this purpose we propose two strategies, namely delaying and breaking commitments. The idea of delaying commitments is that a shipper will not agree with the best bid whenever it is above a certain reserve price. The idea of breaking commitments is that the shipper allows the carriers to break commitments against certain penalties. We evaluate the benefits of both strategies with simulation. In addition, we provide insight into the distribution of the lowest bid which is estimated by the shippers.     

Perception bias in route choice

Travel time is probably one of the most studied attributes in route choice. Recently, perception of travel time received more attention as several studies have shown its importance in explaining route choice behavior. In particular, travel time estimates by travelers appear to be biased against non-chosen options even if these are faster. In this paper, we study travel time perception and route choice of routes with different degrees of road hierarchy and directness. In the Dutch city of Enschede, respondents were asked to choose a route and provide their estimated travel times for both the preferred and alternative routes. These travel times were then compared with actual travel times. Results from previous studies were confirmed and expanded. The shortest time route was chosen in 41 % of the cases while the perceived shortest time route was chosen by almost 80 % of the respondents. Respondents overestimated travel time in general but overestimated the travel time of non-chosen routes more than the travel time of chosen routes. Perception of travel time depends on road hierarchy and route directness, as more direct routes and routes higher up in the hierarchy were perceived as being relatively fast. In addition, there is evidence that these attributes also influence route choice independently of perceived travel time. Finally, travel time perceptions appear to be most strongly biased against non-chosen options when respondents were familiar with the route or indicated a clear preference for the chosen routes. This result indicates that behavior will be more difficult to change for the regular travelers.     

Do the selected Trans European transport investments pass the cost benefit test?

This paper assesses the economic justification for the selection of priority projects defined under the auspices of the Trans-European transport network. Three different transport models are used to analyse the costs and benefits associated with the current list of 30 priority projects. Most of these projects fail the cost-benefit test and few of the economically justifiable projects would need European subsidies to ensure their viability. Two remedies are proposed to minimise the inefficiencies surrounding project selection. The first remedy would oblige each member state or group of states to perform a cost-benefit analysis, followed by peer review and ensure that the results were published publicly prior to the ranking of federally funded priority projects. The second remedy would require federal funding to be made available only for projects with important spillovers to other countries in order to avoid pork barrel political behaviour.     

自行车通勤方式文献综述

无论对通勤者个人还是整个社会,自行车通勤方式要优于其他出行方式.尽管如此,很大一部分通勤者还是放弃了自行车方式.为巩固自行车通勤激励政策的理论基础,研究了影响人们选择自行车通勤方式的决定因素;由于许多自行车通勤者并不是每天都骑车上下班,所以也考虑了其日常出行方式选择情况,以使用频率表示.为明确上述决定因素对自行车通勤的...     

Global ship risk profiles: Safety and the marine environment

This article uses visualization techniques to investigate global ship risk profiles and their changes over time. With a unique data set of 49,151 observations, the authors link changes in risk profiles to legislative developments and industry actions, as well as identify areas prone to general safety, loss of life, and pollution risks. Improved risk profiles over time have resulted from legislative measures, including the International Safety Management Code, the Oil Pollution Act, amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, and the introduction of port state controls and industry vetting inspections.     

Travel plans for new developments: a global review

A travel plan is a mechanism for delivering a package of transport measures at a site to manage car use and encourage the use of more sustainable forms of transport. In recent years, travel plans have been required for new infill and greenfield developments through the land-use planning and approvals process, predominantly in the United Kingdom, the United States, continental Europe and Australia. This paper contributes to the literature by providing a global review of travel plans for new developments. The results show that while travel plans for new developments share a common set of elements with those for pre-existing sites, differences within each element are notable, particularly in the types of travel plan measures adopted, processes for managing the travel plan, and approaches to monitoring and review. Results of previous evaluations have varied considerably, although most have reported a reduction in car driver trips of 10–20 percentage points. Despite this, most evaluations lack rigour, with a paucity of robust evidence. Key success factors identified by the literature, such as the provision of an explicit policy supporting the role of travel plans, should be embedded within the travel planning process where possible to ensure best outcomes for new developments.     

Influence of 3D printing on transport: a theory and experts judgment based conceptual model

Consumer 3D printing is on the rise and has the potential to significantly change the transport and logistics sector. Current literature on 3D printing and transport studies does not provide a systematic model of the impact of 3D printing on transport and related (policy relevant) areas, such as traffic safety, location decisions, accessibility and environmental effects. Based on a literature review and two rounds of expert consultation, we propose and refine a conceptual model as a way to approach this gap in the literature. The expert consultation yields that the conceptual model comprises the relevant and important elements for assessing the impact of 3D printing on transport and transport-related challenges. Location, needs and transport resistance are important: (a) city-level hubs are the most likely locations for 3D printers because they can coordinate material flows and gather expertise; (b) mass-individualisation and personification dictates the needs for 3D printers; (c) distribution networks will be organised more efficiently, less empty vehicles, but raw materials still need shipping. However, experts’ opinions diverged on the impact of 3D printing on transport volumes and environmental impacts.